Layoffs and relocations

June 15, 2004

Of the 239,361 private sector nonfarm workers who were separated from their jobs for at least 31 days in mass layoffs during the first quarter of 2004, 4,633 were affected by events associated with the movement of work outside of the country.

Domestic relocation of work—both within the company and to other companies—affected 9,985 workers.

Extended mass layoffs and separations associated with the movement of work, domestically or overseas, reflect job loss at companies employing at least 50 workers where at least 50 people filed for unemployment insurance during a five-week period and the layoff lasted more than 30 days. The extended mass layoff statistics and movement of work measures, therefore, do not reflect layoffs of less than 50 at these companies, nor do they capture layoffs occurring at establishments with less than 50 workers.

In addition, these data do not cover situations in which firms initiate or transfer work to new locations when there are no layoffs involved.

Self-employment in the United States
Trends in self-employment by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, including both the unincorporated and the incorporated self-employed, as well as data on paid employees who work for the self-employed.